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The Brearley School, an independent girls’ school serving over 770 students K-XII, seeks a part-time Teacher of Spanish to teach two classes in Middle and/or Upper School beginning August 2023.
teaching the Spanish curriculum, as assigned, in Middle and/or Upper School
participating in planning meetings with Modern Language colleagues
attending to the social and emotional growth of students
participating in the life of the school outside of the department
supporting and advancing the School’s commitment to equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.
About the School
Founded in 1884, the school is a center of intellectual exuberance, attracting students from across and beyond New York City. Our mission has long combined outstanding academics with an insistence on a larger purpose: to cultivate in our students a commitment to the greater good. In pursuit of this goal, we actively strive to build, nurture and sustain a diverse faculty and student body. We are committed to creating an inclusive, equitable and antiracist school community, and we expect our faculty, staff, students, parents, and trustees to pursue meaningful change through deliberate and measurable actions.
The ideal candidate will:
have at least three years of teaching experience
have a strong interest in the use of technology in the classroom
have knowledge of and experience in working with elementary-aged students
have a Bachelor of Arts degree
native or near-native proficiency in Spanish and a genuine passion for teaching it
possess competence in inclusive, anti-bias, anti-racist pedagogy
commit to helping students think independently and develop confidence in their own abilities
possess excellent communication skills
collaborate eagerly, and
bring to their work a collegial spirit and a positive attitude.
PROFILE
2022 • 2023
Founded in 1884, Brearley has over 130 years of experience in educating girls of adventurous intellect. In the words of our mis- sion statement today, “The Brearley School challenges girls of adventurous intellect to think critically and creatively and prepares them for active, responsible citizenship in a democratic society. Within a diverse community and in partnership with dedicated faculty, students in classes K through XII develop a command of many disciplines and a love of learning through the passionate exchange of ideas.”
Our enrollment is 772 students, and there are 64 seniors in the Class of 2022. At Brearley, 18% of the students receive financial aid and 56% identify as students of color. The School has 99 full-time and 11 part-time faculty members. Among our faculty, 85 hold advanced degrees including 12 with doctorates. We are accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools.
CURRICULUM AND MARKING SYSTEM
At Brearley, there are no courses or sections of courses that are especially designated as “Honors” level. No courses at the School are labeled “Advanced Placement” as none strictly follow an AP syllabus. Our policy is to l...eave it to our students to decide whether to take the AP examination in a particular course.
Students in Classes XI and XII may choose to take four to five and a half courses. The Associate Head of School for Academic Life reviews each student’s academic program and extracurricular involvement. In the spring of senior year, most students petition to create their own program, which may include dropping some academic courses to sample new topics in minicourses taught by faculty or to concentrate on one particular subject through individual independent study. A student may also pursue an extracur- ricular project or internship that worthily replaces some or all of her academic work.
Class IX final grades are based on work done in the second semester and the March exam grade. While teachers in Class IX write, grade and return individual assignments, first semester grades are considered “transitional” and will not be averaged into a stu- dent’s year-end grade.
The Brearley curriculum is entirely college preparatory; our marking system is shown below.
A 93–99 B+ 87–89 B- 80–82 C 73–76 D+ 67–69 D- 60–62 A- 90–92 B 83–86 C+ 77–79 C- 70–72 D 63–66 F below 60
There is no grade of A+. In view of the small size of our senior classes, we do not rank our students.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION AT BREARLEY
The Brearley School believes that diversity of thought, practice and identity are essential elements in preparing students for principled engagement in the world. We believe in the importance of establishing and strengthening the structures and practices necessary to achieve equitable representation and participation in our school. This work requires active introspection, self-aware- ness and the determination to make conscious and consistently equitable choices on a daily basis. We expect our faculty, staff, students, parents and trustees to pursue meaningful change through deliberate and measurable actions. These actions include participating in antiracist training and identifying and eliminating policies, practices and beliefs that uphold racial inequality in our community.
Our students understand the opportunities and challenges of learning and working in a diverse environment characterized by respect and consideration for the needs of others. They leave here, armed not only with the academic skills and habits of thought that allow them to participate fully in the intellectual life of a college, but also leave ready to engage respectfully and meaning- fully with students of different backgrounds, identities and beliefs. They understand the thoughtfulness and hard work required to ensure an equitable and inclusive environment. They will be ready to help others do the same.
NOTES ON DEPARTMENTS AND COURSES
ENGLISH
The hallmark of the Brearley English Department is its focus on close reading of texts through both oral and written expression. Eng- lish courses encourage an understanding of the context in which literature takes shape and develop students’ awareness and expression of their own voices in analytical and imaginative ways. Works are drawn from American, British and World Literature, including Austen, Baldwin, Bishop, Cather, Cheng’en Wu, Dubois, Espaillat, Hawthorne, Hurston, Li-Young Lee, Melville, Morrison, Rushdie, Shake- speare and Sophocles. Elective courses (chosen by Class XI and Class XII) include Contemporary Arab-American Poets of the Diaspora; John Milton’s Paradise Lost; An Intersectional Approach to the Poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks, Audre Lorde, Lucille Clifton and Marilyn Nelson; The Short Stories of Jhumpa Lahiri, Hisaye Yamamoto, and Alice Munro; Magic Realism; James Baldwin and Virginia Woolf; and Experiments in the Novel: Henry James and Zadie Smith. The Department also offers an application-based poetry workshop.
HISTORY
All students in Class IX take Twentieth Century World History, which completes the four-year sequence of world history that begins in Class VI with a study of ancient civilizations across Asia and Africa. Students in Class X take a United States History course (concurrent with the American Literature course offered by the English Department) with emphasis on the US Constitution. All students must take at least one additional history course with a research component in Class XI or XII. All electives are open to juniors and seniors.
MATHEMATICS
The Department of Mathematics provides students with mathematical tools and problem solving skills to meet challenges analyti- cally. Of particular note is the option for qualified students to enter Brearley’s most rigorous math track in Class X. Students in this program are prepared for Advanced Calculus in Class XI. Despite the accelerated pace all topics are studied in depth with emphasis on problem solving, overarching themes, and student-guided solutions. The program is designed for students who demonstrate not only exceptional ability and facility, but also are passionate about the subject and are motivated to learn both independently and through collaboration in class, with minimal direction from the teacher. Students who complete this intensely demanding program choose to commit themselves to a significantly heavier workload.
MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES
All students study Mandarin in Classes I through IV. French, Mandarin and Spanish are available to students in Classes V through XII. Upon entering Upper School, students who choose to continue to study the Modern Language they began in Middle School are placed in a Level II course in Class IX. Students who begin to study Spanish in Class IX are placed in a Level I course. In addition to the five years of Latin offered in Middle and Upper School, students in Class XI and/or XII may elect to study Attic Greek for one or two years.
SCIENCE
The typical curriculum is Biology (Class IX) and Chemistry (Class X). Most students will take Physics (in Class XI or Class XII) while others will add advanced science courses to their curriculum (offered in Biology, Chemistry and Physics). Additionally, En- vironmental Sustainability is offered as a non-lab elective. Through an application process, students may opt to join Advanced Sci- ence Research Seminar, an after-school program that explores current scientific techniques and research. Students commit to this program for three years.
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Brearley offers two year-long Computer Science courses, Introduction to Computer Science and Advanced Computer Science.
CHANGES DUE TO COVID
During the 2020-2021 academic year, approximately 15% of our student body, and a similar percentage of faculty were remote. At several points during the year, everyone worked remotely to minimize COVID risk.
Students and faculty who opted to be remote for the year did so for a variety of reasons, including personal health, the health of family members, and the safety of commuting options.
In terms of academic program, no distinctions were made. Students learning remotely had the same work and the same assess- ments as students learning in-person; grading rubrics were applied consistently.
Given the personal nature of families’ decisions regarding remote-learning, as well as the fact that all students did the same work, we have opted not to note in our letters whether a student learned primarily remotely or primarily in-person for the 2020-2021 school year. If they so choose, students will use the COVID question on the Common Application to discuss any effects COVID had on that or subsequent academic years. This may include whether they learned remotely or in-person during 2020-2021.
LEARNING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
An integral part of the educational experience, co-curricular activities provide opportunities to explore new areas, develop talents and become acquainted with students in different grades. Our athletics program fields teams in fourteen different varsity sports. Our publications include a newspaper and literary magazine. We offer an extensive program in the arts: dance, music, art and drama. Additional offerings include robotics, creative writing, an environmental action club, debate and Model UN. Brearley also has a long-standing commitment to a community service program that features developmentally appropriate activities beginning in Kindergarten and continuing throughout the Upper School.
COLLEGE ENTRANCE 2018–2022
Amherst College
Bard College
Barnard College
Bates College
Boston College
Boston Conservatory
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Bucknell University
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University Clark University
Colgate University
College of the Holy Cross
College of William and Mary Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Davidson College
Denison University
Dickinson College
Duke University
Emory University
George Washington University Georgetown University
Hamilton College
Harvard University
Haverford College
Howard University
Kenyon College
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
Macalester College
Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Massachusetts Institute of Technology McGill University
Middlebury College
New York University
CONTACT INFORMATION
4 Northwestern University 8 1 Oberlin College 1 4 Occidental College 2 1 Pomona College 2 4 Princeton University 12 1 Rice University 2 4 Sarah Lawrence College 1 4 Skidmore College 1
1 Smith College 1
2 Southern Methodist University 1
3 Stanford University 5
2 Swarthmore College 3 1 Trinity College 3 7 Tufts University 4
2 Tulane University 1
3 Union College/Albany Medical School 1
21 United States Military Academy: West Point 1 17 University of California, Berkeley 1 4 University of Cambridge 1 1 University of Chicago 13 1 University of Edinburgh 1 1 University of Miami 1 7 University of Michigan 2 3 University of Oxford 1 1 University of Pennsylvania 10 6 University of Richmond 1 2 University of Rochester 1 26 University of Southern California 2 3 University of St. Andrews 2 1 University of Vermont 1
1 University of Virginia 1
2 University of Zurich 1
1 Vanderbilt University 2
1 Wake Forest University 2
2 Washington University in St . Louis 4
2 Wellesley College 1 2 Wesleyan University 2 1 Williams College 11 7 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 1 Yale University 21
